Device and method for controlling lamp for vehicle

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a device and a method for controlling a vehicle. The device may include a camera for obtaining an image of a region around the vehicle and outputting image information, a navigation for outputting a current location of the vehicle as map information, a front radar for sensing an object in front of the vehicle and generating front radar information, a front-lateral radar for sensing an object in front of and lateral to the vehicle and generating front-lateral radar information, a lamp controller that generates a shadow zone code based on at least one of the image information, the map information, the front radar information, or the front-lateral radar information, and a lamp for forming a shadow zone in a light irradiation pattern based on the shadow zone code.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2019-0179593, filed in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office on Dec. 31, 2019, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a device and a method for controllinga lamp for controlling a light irradiation range of a headlamp disposedon a vehicle.

BACKGROUND

In general, a beam pattern implemented in a headlamp of a vehicle islargely divided into a low beam and a high beam.

A high beam pattern technology has an adaptive driving beam (ADB) mode.The ADB mode is operated in a high beam mode at ordinary times, andforms a shadow zone when a preceding vehicle appears, thereby securing acomfortable view to a driver of a present vehicle while preventing glareof a driver of another vehicle.

The general ADB mode secures the comfortable view to the driver of thepresent vehicle while not causing light pollution to the driver ofanother vehicle in a straight road section based on a nighttime lightsource recognition algorithm of a front camera. However, because thefront camera is not able to be sense a vehicle crossing at anintersection or an access road, there is a problem of causing the lightpollution to another vehicle.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentionedproblems occurring in the prior art while advantages achieved by theprior art are maintained intact.

An aspect of the present disclosure provides a device and a method forcontrolling a lamp for a vehicle that may sense a vehicle crossing at anintersection or an access road.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a device and a methodfor controlling a lamp for a vehicle that may sense a crossing vehicleat an intersection or an access road, and control a light irradiationpattern of a lamp based on a location of the sensed vehicle.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a device and a methodfor controlling a lamp for a vehicle that do not cause glare to a driverof a vehicle crossing at an intersection or an access road.

The technical problems to be solved by the present inventive concept arenot limited to the aforementioned problems, and any other technicalproblems not mentioned herein will be clearly understood from thefollowing description by those skilled in the art to which the presentdisclosure pertains.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a device forcontrolling a lamp for a vehicle includes a camera for obtaining animage of a region around the vehicle and outputting image information, anavigation for outputting a current location of the vehicle as mapinformation, a front radar for sensing an object in front of the vehicleand generating front radar information, a front-lateral radar forsensing an object in front of and lateral to the vehicle and generatingfront-lateral radar information, a lamp controller that generates ashadow zone code based on at least one of the image information, the mapinformation, the front radar information, or the front-lateral radarinformation, and a lamp for forming a shadow zone in a light irradiationpattern based on the shadow zone code.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method forcontrolling a lamp for a vehicle includes a time determination operationof determining whether it is nighttime or daytime from an image of aregion around the vehicle, a location determination operation ofdetermining whether a current location of the vehicle is a presetlocation from a navigation, an object detection operation of determiningwhether an object exists in front of and lateral to the vehicle when itis determined to be the nighttime in the time determination operationand when the current location of the vehicle is determined to be thepreset location in the location determination operation, an objectmovement sensing operation of sensing a crossing movement of the objectwhen the object exists in the front of and lateral to the vehicle in theobject detection operation, and a shadow zone control operation offorming a shadow zone in a light irradiation pattern of the lamp basedon the crossing movement of the object sensed in the object movementsensing operation.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a device forcontrolling a lamp for a vehicle includes a camera for obtaining animage of a region in front of the vehicle and outputting imageinformation, a navigation for outputting a current location of thevehicle as map information, a front radar for sensing an object in frontof the vehicle and generating front radar information, a front-lateralradar for sensing an object in front of and lateral to the vehicle andgenerating front-lateral radar information, a lamp controller thatgenerates a shadow zone code based on a location of another crossingvehicle when the current location of a present vehicle is a presetlocation during nighttime travel, based on at least one of the imageinformation, the map information, the front radar information, or thefront-lateral radar information, and a lamp for forming a shadow zone ina light irradiation pattern based on the shadow zone code.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method forcontrolling a lamp for a vehicle includes a time determination operationof determining whether it is nighttime or daytime from an image of aregion around the vehicle, a location determination operation ofdetermining whether a current location of the vehicle is a presetlocation from a navigation, an object detection operation of determiningwhether an object exists in front of and lateral to the vehicle when itis determined to be the nighttime in the time determination operationand when the current location of the vehicle is determined to be thepreset location in the location determination operation, a daytime imagedetermination algorithm operating operation of determining, when theobject located in front of and lateral to the vehicle detected in theobject detection operation is crossing, whether the crossing object inan image of a region in front of the vehicle is a vehicle using adaytime recognition algorithm, and a shadow zone control operation offorming a shadow zone in a light irradiation pattern of the lamp basedon a crossing movement of the vehicle sensed in the daytime imagedetermination algorithm operating operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a configuration of a lamp control devicefor a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an embodiment of a lamp controller in aconfiguration of a lamp control device for a vehicle according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for illustrating an operation of a lamp controldevice for a vehicle to which a lamp controller in FIG. 2 is applied;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a configuration according to anotherembodiment of a lamp controller in a configuration of a lamp controldevice for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for illustrating an operation of a lamp controldevice for a vehicle to which a lamp controller in FIG. 4 is applied;and

FIG. 6 is a view for illustrating a lamp control device for a vehicleaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the exemplary drawings. In addingthe reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should benoted that the identical or equivalent component is designated by theidentical numeral even when they are displayed on other drawings.Further, in describing the embodiment of the present disclosure, adetailed description of well-known features or functions will be ruledout in order not to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the presentdisclosure.

In describing the components of the embodiment according to the presentdisclosure, terms such as first, second, “A”, “B”, (a), (b), and thelike may be used. These terms are merely intended to distinguish onecomponent from another component, and the terms do not limit the nature,sequence or order of the constituent components. Unless otherwisedefined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms,have the same meanings as those generally understood by those skilled inthe art to which the present disclosure pertains. Such terms as thosedefined in a generally used dictionary are to be interpreted as havingmeanings equal to the contextual meanings in the relevant field of art,and are not to be interpreted as having ideal or excessively formalmeanings unless clearly defined as having such in the presentapplication.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described indetail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a configuration of a lamp control devicefor a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, a lamp control device for a vehicle according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented inside avehicle. In this connection, the lamp control device for the vehicle maybe integrally formed with internal control units of the vehicle, and maybe implemented as a separate device and connected to the control unitsof the vehicle by separate connecting means.

Referring to FIG. 1, the lamp control device for the vehicle accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a camera 10, anavigation 20, a front radar 30, a front-lateral radar 40, a lampcontroller 50, and a lamp 60.

The camera 10 may be a device for obtaining an image of a region aroundthe vehicle.

For example, the camera 10 may be installed in the vehicle, obtain theimage of the region around the vehicle, and output the obtained image asimage information IMG_inf. More specifically, the camera 10 may be afront camera installed at a front side of the vehicle, and the imageobtained from the camera 10 may be image information IMG_inf on an imageof a front region of the vehicle.

The navigation 20 may be linked with a global positioning system (GPS)to output a shape of a road, line information, and information ofvarious structures for a current location of the vehicle as mapinformation NV_inf.

The front radar 30 may include a radar disposed at the front side of thevehicle to detect an object in front of the vehicle. The front radar 30may sense the object in front of the vehicle and output the sensingresult as front radar information FR_inf.

The front-lateral radar 40 may include a radar disposed at afront-lateral side of the vehicle to detect an object disposed in frontof and lateral to the vehicle. The front-lateral radar 40 may sense theobject disposed in front of and lateral to the vehicle, and output thesensing result as front-lateral radar information SR_inf.

Each of the front radar 30 and the front-lateral radar may emit anelectromagnetic wave in a direction of installation thereof via theelectromagnetic wave, and detect the object based on an electromagneticwave reflected from the object.

For example, each of the front radar 30 and the front-lateral radar 40is able to detect a location of the detected object, a distance to thedetected object, and a relative speed, and has an advantage of beingable to perform long distance detection without being affected byenvironmental factors such as nighttime, snow, rain, fog, and the like.

The lamp controller 50 may generate a shadow zone code BP_code based onat least one of the image information IMG_inf, the map informationNV_inf, the front radar information FR_inf, or the front-lateral radarinformation SR_inf.

For example, the lamp controller 50 may detect a vehicle crossing at anaccess road or an intersection based on at least one of the imageinformation IMG_inf, the map information NV_inf, the front radarinformation FR_inf, or the front-lateral radar information SR_inf, andgenerate the shadow zone code BP_code for changing an irradiationpattern of light irradiated from the lamp 60 based on a location of thecrossing vehicle.

More specifically, the lamp controller 50 may determine whether it isdaytime or the nighttime based on the image information IMG_inf. Thelamp controller 50 may determine whether the current location of thevehicle is the access road or the intersection based on the mapinformation NV_inf. When it is the nighttime and the current location ofthe vehicle is the access road or the intersection, the lamp controller50 may detect the object disposed in the front of and lateral to thepresent vehicle based on the front-lateral radar information SR_inf. Thelamp controller 50 may detect a location based on a movement of theobject detected based on the front-lateral radar information SR_inf andthe front radar information FR_inf. When the crossing object is avehicle, the lamp controller 50 may generate the shadow zone codeBP_code based on the location of the object based on the front-lateralradar information SR_inf and the front radar information FR_inf.

The lamp 60 may form a shadow zone in the light irradiation patternbased on the shadow zone code BP_code.

Eventually, when the vehicle crossing at the access road or theintersection is detected, the lamp control device for the vehicleaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure may generate theshadow zone code that forms the shadow zone at the location of thecrossing vehicle to change the light irradiation pattern of the lampbased on the shadow zone code. Therefore, the lamp control device forthe vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may notcause glare to a driver of the vehicle crossing at the access road orthe intersection. In this connection, in the lamp control device for thevehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, thetechnology of changing the light irradiation pattern of the lamp basedon the location of the vehicle crossing at the access road or theintersection is disclosed. However, the present disclosure onlydiscloses a technology of not causing glare to a driver of a vehiclecrossing at a preset location, and does not limit the preset location tothe access road and the intersection.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an embodiment of a lamp controller in aconfiguration of a lamp control device for a vehicle according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the lamp controller 50 may include an imagedetermining device 51, a present vehicle location determining device 52,an object location determining device 53, a recognition device 54, and acode generating device 55.

The image determining device 51 may determine the nighttime or thedaytime based on the image information IMG_inf, that is, the image ofthe region around the vehicle, and output the determination result asimage determination result N_s.

For example, the image determining device 51 may determine the nighttimeand the daytime based on the image information IMG_inf, and output theimage determination result N_s as signals of different levels based onthe determination result.

The present vehicle location determining device 52 may determine whetherthe current location of the vehicle is the preset location, that is, theaccess road or the intersection, based on the map information NV_inf,and output the determination result as location determination resultP_s.

For example, when the current location of the vehicle is the access roador the intersection based on the map information NV_inf, the presentvehicle location determining device 52 may output the locationdetermination result P_s as a signal of a level different from that ofthe access road and the intersection.

The object location determining device 53 may detect the object locatedin front of and lateral to the present vehicle based on the front radarinformation FR_inf and the front-lateral radar information SR_inf, andgenerate an object movement code OP_code corresponding to the locationof the detected object. In this connection, the object locationdetermining device 53 may detect the object located in front of andlateral to the present vehicle from the front-lateral radar informationSR_inf, and generate the object movement code OP_code corresponding tothe location of the moving object based on the front-lateral radarinformation SR_inf and the front radar information FR_inf when theobject is detected.

The recognition device 54 may generate a code generation signal O_cbased on the image determination result N_s of the image determiningdevice 51 and the location determination result P_s of the presentvehicle location determining device 52.

For example, when the image determination result N_s of the imagedetermining device 51 is the nighttime, and when the locationdetermination result P_s of the present vehicle location determiningdevice 52 is the preset location (the access road or the intersection),the recognition device 54 may enable the code generation signal O_c.

On the other hand, when the image determination result N_s of the imagedetermining device 51 is the daytime, and when the locationdetermination result P_s of the present vehicle location determiningdevice 52 is the preset location (the access road or the intersection),the recognition device 54 may disable the code generation signal O_c.

The code generating device 55 may generate the shadow zone code BP_codebased on the code generation signal O_c and the object movement codeOP_code.

For example, when the code generation signal O_c is enabled, the codegenerating device 55 may generate the shadow zone code BP_code having acode value corresponding to the object movement code OP_code.

In one example, when the code generation signal O_c is disabled, thecode generating device 55 may initialize the shadow zone code BP_code toan initial value regardless of the object movement code OP_code.

When the shadow zone code BP_code is initialized, the lamp 60 mayirradiate the light with a light irradiation pattern without the shadowzone.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for illustrating an operation of a lamp controldevice for a vehicle to which a lamp controller in FIG. 2 is applied.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method for controlling a lamp for a vehicleaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include timedetermination operation S1, location determination operation S2, objectdetection operation S3, object movement sensing operation S4, and shadowzone control operation S5.

The time determination operation S1 may include an operation ofdetermining whether it is the nighttime or the daytime from the image ofthe region around the vehicle.

When it is determined in time determination operation S1 that it is thedaytime (No), the method for controlling the lamp for the vehicleaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined in time determination operationS1 that it is the nighttime (Yes), location determination operation S2may be performed.

In this connection, time determination operation S1 may be performedbased on the image information IMG_inf.

Location determination operation S2 is an operation of determiningwhether the current location of the vehicle is the preset location. Whenthe current location of the vehicle is not the access road and theintersection (No) in location determination operation S2, the method forcontrolling the lamp for the vehicle according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may be terminated.

On the other hand, when the current location of the vehicle is thepreset location, that is, the access road or the intersection (Yes) inlocation determination operation S2, object detection operation S3 maybe performed.

In this connection, location determination operation S2 may be performedbased on the map information NV_inf.

Object detection operation S3 is an operation of determining whether theobject exists in front of and lateral to the present vehicle. When thereis no object in front of and lateral to the present vehicle (No), themethod for controlling the lamp for the vehicle according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may be terminated.

On the other hand, when there is the object in front of and lateral tothe present vehicle (Yes), object movement sensing operation S4 may beperformed.

In this connection, object detection operation S3 may be performed basedon the front-lateral radar information SR_inf.

The object movement sensing operation S4 may include an operation ofgenerating the shadow zone code BP_code based on the movement of theobject located in front of and lateral to the present vehicle.

In this connection, object movement sensing operation S4 is forgenerating the shadow zone code BP_code based on the location of thevehicle moving from a region in front of and lateral to the presentvehicle to a region in front of the present vehicle, that is, crossingat the access road or the intersection. Object movement sensingoperation S4 may be performed based on the front-lateral radarinformation SR_inf and the front radar information FR_inf.

Shadow zone control operation S5 may include an operation of forming theshadow zone of the light irradiation pattern irradiated from the presentvehicle based on the movement of the object, that is, the location ofthe object crossing at the access road or the intersection. That is,shadow zone control operation S5 may be performed by the shadow zonecode BP_code to form the shadow zone based on the location of thecrossing vehicle such that the glare is not caused to the driver of thevehicle crossing at the intersection or the access road.

As such, when the present vehicle is located at the preset locationduring the nighttime travel, and when the object is sensed at the regionin front of and lateral to the present vehicle, the lamp control devicefor the vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosureforms the shadow zone in the light pattern irradiated from the lamp ofthe present vehicle based on the movement of the object, thereby notcausing the glare to the driver of the crossing object, that is, thecrossing vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a configuration according to anotherembodiment of a lamp controller in a configuration of a lamp controldevice for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

That is, FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a configuration according toanother embodiment of the lamp controller 50 in the configuration of thelamp control device for the vehicle illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 4, the lamp controller 50 may include a daytime andnighttime determining device 51, the present vehicle locationdetermining device 52, the object location determining device 53, anighttime image determining device 54, a first code generating device55, a daytime image determining device 56, a code transmitting device57, and a second code generating device 58.

The daytime and nighttime determining device 51 may determine thenighttime or the daytime based on the image of the region around thevehicle, that is, the image information IMG_inf, and output thedetermination result as time determination result N_s.

For example, the daytime and nighttime determining device 51 maydetermine the nighttime and the daytime based on the image informationIMG_inf, and output the time determination result N_s as signals ofdifferent levels based on the determination result.

The present vehicle location determining device 52 may determine whetherthe current location of the vehicle is the preset location, that is, theaccess road or the intersection, based on the map information NV_inf,and output the determination result as the location determination resultP_s.

For example, when the current location of the vehicle is the access roador the intersection based on the map information NV_inf, the presentvehicle location determining device 52 may output the locationdetermination result P_s as the signal of the level different from thatof the access road and the intersection.

The object location determining device 53 may detect the object locatedin front of and lateral to the present vehicle based on the front radarinformation FR_inf and the front-lateral radar information SR_inf, andgenerate the object movement code OP_code corresponding to the locationof the detected object. In this connection, the object locationdetermining device 53 may detect the object located in front of andlateral to the present vehicle from the front-lateral radar informationSR_inf, and generate the object movement code OP_code corresponding tothe location of the moving object based on the front-lateral radarinformation SR_inf and the front radar information FR_inf when theobject is detected.

When the present vehicle is not located at the preset location (e.g.,the access road and the intersection) in the nighttime based on the timedetermination result N_s of the daytime and nighttime determining device51 and the location determination result P_s of the present vehiclelocation determining device 52, the nighttime image determining device54 may determine a presence and a location of a preceding vehicle infront of the present vehicle based on the image information IMG_inf ofthe region in front of the present vehicle, and output the determinationresult as a first image determination result D1_inf.

In this connection, the nighttime image determining device 54 may be acomponent that determines location information of the preceding vehiclebased on a light source of the preceding vehicle from the imageinformation IMG_inf using a nighttime recognition algorithm.

The first code generating device 55 may generate the shadow zone codeBP_code corresponding to the location of the preceding vehicle based onthe first image determination result D1_inf.

When the present vehicle is located at the preset location (e.g., theaccess road and the intersection) in the nighttime based on the timedetermination result N_s of the daytime and nighttime determining device51 and the location determination result P_s of the present vehiclelocation determining device 52, the daytime image determining device 56may determine the object located in front of the present vehicle basedon the image information IMG_inf of the region in front of the presentvehicle, and output the determination result as a second imagedetermination result D2_inf.

In this connection, the daytime image determining device 56 maydetermine whether the object is the vehicle based on a contrast ratio ofthe image information IMG_inf using a daytime recognition algorithm.

When the second image determination result D2_inf of the daytime imagedetermining device 56 is the vehicle, the code transmitting device 57may transmit the object movement code OP_code of the object locationdetermining device 53 to the second code generating device 58 as atransmission code T_code.

In one example, when the second image determination result D2_inf of thedaytime image determining device 56 is not the vehicle, the codetransmitting device 57 may block the object movement code OP_code of theobject location determining device 53 from being transmitted to thesecond code generating device 58 as the transmission code T_code.

The second code generating device 58 may generate the shadow zone codeBP_code corresponding to the transmission code T_code of the codetransmitting device 57, that is, the location of the object (thevehicle) crossing at the intersection or the access road from the regionin front of and lateral to the present vehicle to the region in front ofthe present vehicle.

When the present vehicle is not located at the preset location (theaccess road and the intersection) during the nighttime travel, the lampcontrol device for the vehicle according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure configured as described above may generate the locationinformation based on the light source of the preceding vehicle from theimage of the region in front of the present vehicle using the nighttimerecognition algorithm, and control a light emitting operation of thelamp 60 with a light irradiation pattern including a shadow zone basedon the location of the preceding vehicle.

On the other hand, when the present vehicle is located at the presetlocation (the access road or the intersection) during the nighttimetravel, the lamp control device for the vehicle according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may detect the object located inthe front of and lateral to the present vehicle from the front-lateralradar 40, and sense the location of the object crossing the access roador the intersection from the front-lateral radar 40 and the front radar30. The control device for the vehicle may determine the imageinformation IMG_inf of the crossing object in front of the presentvehicle using the daytime recognition algorithm, and control the lightemitting operation of the lamp 60 with a light irradiation patternincluding a shadow zone based on the location of the vehicle when thedetermined object is the vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for illustrating an operation of a lamp controldevice for a vehicle to which a lamp controller in FIG. 4 is applied.

Referring to FIG. 5, a method for controlling a lamp for a vehicleaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure may includetime determination operation S11, location determination operation S12,object detection operation S13, daytime image determination algorithmoperating operation S14, shadow zone control operation S15, andnighttime image determination algorithm operating operation S16.

The time determination operation S11 may include an operation ofdetermining whether it is the nighttime or the daytime from the image ofthe region around the vehicle.

When it is determined in time determination operation S11 that it is thedaytime (No), the method for controlling the lamp for the vehicleaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined in time determination operationS11 that it is the nighttime (Yes), location determination operation S12may be performed.

In this connection, time determination operation S11 may be performedbased on the image information IMG_inf.

Location determination operation S12 is an operation of determiningwhether the current location of the vehicle is the preset location. Whenthe current location of the vehicle is not the access road and theintersection (No) in location determination operation S12, nighttimeimage determination algorithm operating operation S16 may be performed.

On the other hand, when the current location of the vehicle is thepreset location, that is, the access road or the intersection (Yes) inlocation determination operation S12, object detection operation S13 maybe performed.

In this connection, location determination operation S12 may beperformed based on the map information NV_inf.

Object detection operation S13 is an operation of determining whetherthe object exists in front of and lateral to the present vehicle. Whenthere is no object in front of and lateral to the present vehicle (No),nighttime image determination algorithm operating operation S16 may beperformed.

On the other hand, when there is the object in front of and lateral tothe present vehicle (Yes), the daytime image determination algorithmoperating operation S14 may be performed.

In this connection, object detection operation S13 may be performedbased on the front-lateral radar information SR_inf.

The daytime image determination algorithm operating operation S14 mayinclude an operation of determining the image information IMG_inf withthe daytime recognition algorithm when the object located in front ofand lateral to the present vehicle is moved and contained in the imageinformation IMG_inf of the region in front of the present vehicle.

Shadow zone control operation S15 may include an operation of formingthe shadow zone in the light irradiation pattern irradiated from thepresent vehicle based on the location of the vehicle when it isdetermined in daytime image determination algorithm operating operationS14 that the object is the vehicle.

Nighttime image determination algorithm operating operation S16 is anoperation performed when the present vehicle is not at the presetlocation (the access road and the intersection) during the nighttimetravel, or when the present vehicle is at the preset location (theaccess road or the intersection) during the nighttime travel and thereis no object detected in front of or lateral to the present vehicle.Nighttime image determination algorithm operating operation S16 mayinclude an operation of determining the object as the preceding vehicleusing the nighttime recognition algorithm when a light source of apreset form is contained in the image information IMG_inf of the regionin front of the vehicle, and generating the location of the precedingvehicle.

Shadow zone control operation S15 performed after nighttime imagedetermination algorithm operating operation S16 may include an operationof forming the shadow zone in the light irradiation pattern irradiatedfrom the present vehicle based on the location of the preceding vehicle.

As such, when the present vehicle is located at the preset locationduring the nighttime travel, and when the object is sensed at the regionin front of and lateral to the present vehicle and the sensed object isthe vehicle, the lamp control device for the vehicle according to thepresent disclosure forms the shadow zone in the light pattern irradiatedfrom the lamp of the present vehicle based on the movement of theobject, thereby not causing the glare to the driver of the crossingobject, that is, the crossing vehicle.

In addition, when the vehicle is not currently located at the presetlocation (the access road and the intersection) during the nighttimetravel, and when the light source of the preset form is contained in theimage information of the region in front of the vehicle, the lampcontrol device for the vehicle according to the present disclosure maydetermine the object as the preceding vehicle, and form the lightpattern including the shadow zone based on the location of the precedingvehicle, thereby not causing the glare to the driver of the precedingvehicle.

FIG. 6 is a view for illustrating a lamp control device for a vehicleaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a viewillustrating sensing ranges of the camera, the front radar, and thefront-lateral radar that may be included in the lamp control device forthe vehicle.

Referring to FIG. 6, the object located in front of and lateral to thepresent vehicle may be sensed through front-lateral sensing, thelocation of the object based on the crossing of the object may bedetected through the front-lateral sensing and front radar sensing, andwhether the object is the vehicle may be determined by determining theimage information using the daytime recognition algorithm when thecrossing object enters an angle of view of the camera.

Hereinabove, although the present disclosure has been described withreference to exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings, thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto, but may be variously modifiedand altered by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosurepertains without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure claimed in the following claims.

Therefore, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure areprovided to explain the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, butnot to limit them, so that the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure is not limited by the embodiments. The scope of the presentdisclosure should be construed on the basis of the accompanying claims,and all the technical ideas within the scope equivalent to the claimsshould be included in the scope of the present disclosure.

The present technology may sense the vehicle crossing at theintersection or the access road, and control the light irradiationpattern of the lamp based on the location of the sensed crossingvehicle, thereby not causing the glare to the driver of another vehicle.

In addition, the present technology is advantageous in cost reductionbecause the present technology may be applied to the vehicle withoutadding sensor cost, by using the existing sensors installed in thevehicle.

In addition, various effects that are directly or indirectly identifiedthrough this document may be provided.

Hereinabove, although the present disclosure has been described withreference to exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings, thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto, but may be variously modifiedand altered by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosurepertains without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure claimed in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for controlling a lamp for a vehicle,the device comprising: a camera for obtaining an image of a regionaround the vehicle and outputting image information; a navigation foroutputting a current location of the vehicle as map information; a frontradar for sensing an object in front of the vehicle and generating frontradar information; a front-lateral radar for sensing an object in frontof and lateral to the vehicle and generating front-lateral radarinformation; a lamp controller configured to generate a shadow zone codebased on at least one of the image information, the map information, thefront radar information, or the front-lateral radar information; and alamp for forming a shadow zone in a light irradiation pattern based onthe shadow zone code.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the lampcontroller is configured to: determine whether it is nighttime ordaytime based on the image information; determine whether the currentlocation of the vehicle is a preset location based on the mapinformation; determine a crossing movement of the object based on thefront-lateral radar information and the front radar information; andgenerate the shadow zone code such that the shadow zone is formed in thelight irradiation pattern based on the crossing movement of the objectwhen it is the nighttime based on the image information, and the currentlocation of the vehicle is the preset location based on the mapinformation.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the lamp controllerincludes: an image determining device configured to determine whether itis nighttime or daytime based on the image information; a presentvehicle location determining device configured to determine whether thecurrent location of the vehicle is a preset location based on the mapinformation; an object location determining device configured to detectthe object based on the front-lateral radar information and the frontradar information, and sense a crossing movement of the detected object;a recognition device configured to enable a code generation signal whenthe determination result of the image determining device is thenighttime and the determination result of the present vehicle locationdetermining device is the preset location; and a code generating deviceconfigured to generate the shadow zone code such that the shadow zone isformed in the light irradiation pattern based on the crossing movementof the object of the object location determining device when the codegeneration signal is enabled.
 4. A method for controlling a lamp for avehicle, the method comprising: a time determination operation ofdetermining whether it is nighttime or daytime from an image of a regionaround the vehicle; a location determination operation of determiningwhether a current location of the vehicle is a preset location from anavigation; an object detection operation of determining whether anobject exists in front of and lateral to the vehicle when it isdetermined to be the nighttime in the time determination operation andwhen the current location of the vehicle is determined to be the presetlocation in the location determination operation; an object movementsensing operation of sensing a crossing movement of the object when theobject exists in the front of and lateral to the vehicle in the objectdetection operation; and a shadow zone control operation of forming ashadow zone in a light irradiation pattern of the lamp based on thecrossing movement of the object sensed in the object movement sensingoperation.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the preset location is anaccess road or an intersection.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein theobject detection operation is an operation performed based on a sensingresult of a front-lateral radar disposed at a front-lateral side of thevehicle, wherein the object movement sensing operation is an operationperformed based on a sensing result of a front radar disposed at a frontside of the vehicle and the sensing result of the front-lateral radar.7. The method of claim 4, wherein the object movement sensing operationincludes: generating an object movement code based on the crossingmovement of the object, wherein the shadow zone control operationincludes: generating a shadow zone code corresponding to the objectmovement code, and forming the shadow zone at a location correspondingto the shadow zone code.
 8. A device for controlling a lamp for avehicle, the device comprising: a camera for obtaining an image of aregion in front of the vehicle and outputting image information; anavigation for outputting a current location of the vehicle as mapinformation; a front radar for sensing an object in front of the vehicleand generating front radar information; a front-lateral radar forsensing an object in front of and lateral to the vehicle and generatingfront-lateral radar information; a lamp controller configured togenerate a shadow zone code based on a location of another crossingvehicle when the current location of a present vehicle is a presetlocation during nighttime travel, based on at least one of the imageinformation, the map information, the front radar information, or thefront-lateral radar information; and a lamp for forming a shadow zone ina light irradiation pattern based on the shadow zone code.
 9. The deviceof claim 8, wherein the lamp controller is configured to: determinewhether it is a nighttime or daytime based on the image information;determine whether the current location of the vehicle is the presetlocation based on the map information; detect the object in front of andlateral to the vehicle based on the front-lateral radar information;sense a crossing movement of the detected object based on thefront-lateral radar information and the front radar information;determine whether the object is a crossing vehicle based on the imageinformation; and generate the shadow zone code based on a location ofthe crossing vehicle.
 10. The device of claim 8, wherein the lampcontroller includes: a daytime and nighttime determining deviceconfigured to determine whether it is a nighttime or daytime based onthe image information; a present vehicle location determining deviceconfigured to determine whether the current location of a presentvehicle is the preset location based on the map information; an objectlocation determining device configured to detect the object in front ofand lateral to the vehicle based on the front-lateral radar information,and sense a crossing movement of the detected object based on thefront-lateral radar information and the front radar information, therebydetermining a location of the object; a nighttime image determiningdevice configured to determine the image information using a nighttimerecognition algorithm when the daytime and nighttime determining devicedetermines that it is the nighttime, and the present vehicle locationdetermining device determines that the current location of the presentvehicle is not the preset location; a daytime image determining deviceconfigured to determine the image information using a daytimerecognition algorithm when the daytime and nighttime determining devicedetermines that it is the nighttime, and the present vehicle locationdetermining device determines that the current location of the presentvehicle is the preset location; a first code generating deviceconfigured to receive a location of a preceding vehicle from thenighttime image determining device and generate the shadow zone code; acode transmitting device configured to transmit an object movement codebased on the location of the object provided from the object locationdetermining device to a second code generating device when the imageinformation is determined as a vehicle from the daytime imagedetermining device; and the second code generating device configured togenerate the shadow zone code based on the object movement codetransmitted from the code transmitting device.
 11. The device of claim10, wherein the nighttime recognition algorithm includes an algorithmfor determining a light source of a preset form in the image informationas the preceding vehicle, wherein the daytime recognition algorithmincludes an algorithm for determining whether the object is a vehiclebased on a contrast ratio of the image information.
 12. The device ofclaim 10, wherein the code transmitting device is configured to blockthe transmission of the object movement code to the second codegenerating device when the image information is not determined as thevehicle from the daytime image determining device.
 13. A method forcontrolling a lamp for a vehicle, the method comprising: a timedetermination operation of determining whether it is nighttime ordaytime from an image of a region around the vehicle; a locationdetermination operation of determining whether a current location of thevehicle is a preset location from a navigation; an object detectionoperation of determining whether an object exists in front of andlateral to the vehicle when it is determined to be the nighttime in thetime determination operation and when the current location of thevehicle is determined to be the preset location in the locationdetermination operation; a daytime image determination algorithmoperating operation of determining, when the object located in front ofand lateral to the vehicle detected in the object detection operation iscrossing, whether the crossing object in an image of a region in frontof the vehicle is a vehicle using a daytime recognition algorithm; and ashadow zone control operation of forming a shadow zone in a lightirradiation pattern of the lamp based on a crossing movement of thevehicle sensed in the daytime image determination algorithm operatingoperation.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the daytime recognitionalgorithm includes an algorithm for determining the object based on acontrast ratio of the image.
 15. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising: a nighttime image determination algorithm operatingoperation of determining a preceding vehicle in the image of the regionin front of the vehicle using a nighttime recognition algorithm when itis determined to be the nighttime in the time determination operationand when the current location of the vehicle is determined not to be thepreset location in the location determination operation.
 16. The methodof claim 15, wherein the nighttime recognition algorithm includes analgorithm for determining the preceding vehicle based on a light sourceof the image.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: anoperation of performing the shadow zone control operation after thenighttime image determination algorithm operating operation, wherein theshadow zone control operation performed after the nighttime imagedetermination algorithm operating operation includes: generating theshadow zone in the light irradiation pattern of the lamp based on alocation of the preceding vehicle.
 18. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising: a nighttime image determination algorithm operatingoperation of determining a preceding vehicle in the image of the regionin front of the vehicle using a nighttime recognition algorithm when theobject does not exist in front of and lateral to the vehicle in theobject detection operation.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein thenighttime recognition algorithm includes an algorithm for determiningthe preceding vehicle based on a light source of the image.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising: an operation of performing theshadow zone control operation after the nighttime image determinationalgorithm operating operation, wherein the shadow zone control operationperformed after the nighttime image determination algorithm operatingoperation includes: generating the shadow zone in the light irradiationpattern of the lamp based on a location of the preceding vehicle.